Stationery Haul #5 | Philippine Made Postcards & More

In line with my February Bullet Journal theme of letter writing, I decided to look for postcards made locally for postcrossing. I haven’t been able to buy old school postcards from the bookstore coz they’re always out of stock. The only other place where I could buy postcards is Papemelroti. I do like their postcards, but I’m wanting a little bit more variety.

So on valentines weekend, my husband and I went to Rockwell Power Plant Mall in search for said postcards. I was most interested to go to Common Room, where they sell, in consignment, works of independent local Filipino artists. However, we all know that a trip to the mall wouldn’t be that easy, right?! Beside Common Room is Noteworthy, another art supply store. And of course, I went there to buy a few things, too! 😜

Here’s my stationery haul from that simple trip to the mall. 😉

COMMON ROOM
I bought postcards created by different artists: @Louisermos, Carawrrr, and NiftyStorePH. I also got an Everyday Explorers Stamp called Choose Your Own Adventure.

The postcards are really colorful and cute. The ones from @Louisermos had amazing illustrations, I couldn’t resist! However, for the price of these postcards, I wish the card stock they used was thicker. Compared to Pinspired Postcards (discussed below), the Pinspired ones are thicker and cheaper. I understand that these are illustrations/creations by independent artists and not as mass produced as the other brand, so production cost may be higher, but of course I would also expect a the same, if not better, quality for double the price.

Since these are consigned products, they are more expensive than if you buy directly from the artists’ websites/shops. The convenience of going to just one store and see all of their work is basically what you’re paying additional for. The stamp alone was originally Php 850 from the website, while it’s Php 979 in the store. The difference in the postcards are about Php 10 or so, so it’s not that big of a deal.

If you’ve been following my bullet journal setups you’ve already seen that I have several of the Everyday Explorers stamps already. This particular design is out of stock from their website so even if it’s Php 129 more expensive, I couldn’t pass up! 😜

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NOTEWORTHY
I came here mainly for stamp pads for future bullet journal themes. I’m searching early so I don’t cram when the time comes. But who can really resist not looking around?!! A shelf away from the stamp pads are the clear stamps from Memories and Things. So of course I had to look. These are not locally made, by the way. I just included these with the haul since I bought it at the same time as the postcards.

I chose the 3 stamp pads from VersaCraft in mini pans since I won’t be using these colors a lot, plus they might not even be the color I want. Upon trying them at home, I fell in love with how vibrant the colors are (on white paper)! I was hesitant to buy the Autumn Leaf at first, in the fear of it being too orange, but I was wrong. It definitely is beautiful! 🙂

I had to be a bit picky (if you could call it that) with the clear stamps I chose. The larger ones are a bit more expensive and I was not prepared to buy a lot. With pen-paling and postcrossing in mind, I got the ones with postage stamps and tickets. I think these are really adorable and vintage-y. I was over the moon while swatching these for my album collection!

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PINSPIRED
I actually made a purchase from their website a day before we went to the mall. I bought different postcards, stickers and limited edition postage stamps.

The postcards are amazing! According to their website, they use 300gsm card stock for these. These feels sturdier compare to the Common Room finds discussed above. My main concern is it surviving the travel from the Philippines to anywhere in the world! I receive thick postcards and they’re still bent on the corners. What more if the postcards were thinner?

The postage stamps can actually be bought in Manila Central Post Office at face value. I still need to find the time and opportunity to go there with my husband one of these days. I can only imagine the variety of the stamps compared to the common ones I get from the nearest post office from my house. 😍

I’m really excited to use these postcards soon! I love the variety and the fact that I am supporting locally made products is just humbling. These creators are really very talented. I love having the pleasure of patronizing these products and help them to grow their crafts. 🤩 I will definitely will be on the lookout for future designs and creators.

If you’re in the Philippines and know of any other artists/websites that make/sell postcards, please comment them below so I could check them out! Thank you and have an amazing week ahead! 😊